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As I become more and more open to black metal EPs, there is a sense of comfort in being able to find music that you can listen to despite the length of it. However, many EPs are becoming more like albums; while there are fewer than five songs on the record, the song lengths surpass the 10-minute mark. It’s an interesting blur that is happening frequently, and it’s amusing to see. This brings me to the three-song EP Storm Borrower, which showcases a distinct blend of ambient tones and black metal that makes it a bit dreamy.
Right off the bat, the beginning of Storm Borrower sounds like if Saor’s Guardians and Unreqvited’s Disquiet got together and made sweet music together, unleashing this into the world. First track “The Songless Forest” has the atmosphere that makes you want to relax and take some time out of reality to just let your mind wander. The growls in the song do nothing to take you out of the atmosphere, allowing the listener to just drift off elsewhere, transcending to some far off place. The surface-level simplicity hides a deeper complexity that caught my attention. For one thing, while the pacing set on the EP almost never changes, the tones buried underneath the melody and the way the voice adds flair to the space outside of the melody’s main reach makes an interesting tonal texture that feels oddly satisfying.
Atmospheric black metal can still sound interesting and new despite the over-saturation of the subgenre itself, and Veldes shows how that can be done. Storm Borrower is a highly enjoyable EP that transcends even the smallest of doubts. It captures your attention and holds it long after it ends. The atmosphere is sublime and dream-like, and you can’t help but smile a little as you come towards the end. Perhaps, at the bottom of it all, this record is meant to be heard when you are by yourself, when you need a pick-me-up that no substance or activity can provide. It is inherently calming.